A 'different' approach to managing our debt

Dear Editor:

Perhaps one of the reasons we have gridlock in Washington is that Congress tries to cover too much in a single monstrous piece of legislation. Many bills contain worthwhile provisions on which bipartisan agreement could easily be reached, but the final bill often also includes many very partisan and "pork barrel" add-ons which are then traded behind closed doors. The end result is a bill that few legislators understand or have even read, or a bill that fails passage or is vetoed because one item in an otherwise positive piece of legislation is deemed unacceptable.

One solution to this dilemma may be to enact legislation by covering only one issue in each bill. One single issue that is at the heart of our current economic woes, and which really needs a complete overhaul, is our income tax code. But our economic predicament calls for immediate solutions, and revamping our taxi system will require considerable deliberation and haggling which we cannot take the time for now. After we get our ship back on course, we can address the tax question. Hopefully, that will result in the elimination of the IRS and the income tax, both personal and corporate, in favor of a Flat Fair Tax. (This would not be the flat fair tax suggested by Gordon Smith in his recent Times News letter, which does not abolish the IRS, but the Flat Fair Tax strongly supported by Presidential Candidate Herman Cain and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.) Unfortunately, not many people understand much about the Flat Fair Tax, so there is little chance of it being enacted any time soon (Readers are encouraged to go to www.fairtax.org http://www.fairtax.org/ for a real eye-opener.)

There are other "single issue" problems that must be addressed if we are to save our economy for future generations, like the entitlement areas of Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid. At a minimum, the overhaul of these must include changes such as raising the retirement age, enacting tort reform, cracking down on fraud, and possibly establishing individual retirement and health savings accounts. These, however, are complex programs which do not fit the single issue agenda and will no doubt require more time to resolve than we can devote to them in the immediate future. Realistically, we may not be able to take on these challenges until after the 2012 elections.

Meanwhile, here are a number of single-issue ideas for creating jobs, increasing revenue, and reducing spending that could be expedited through Congress for an up or down vote this year.

To Create Jobs:

Seal our borders. (Some of the required manpower could be provided by military personnel brought home from overseas, as covered under "Reduced Spending.")

Set up a program to rebuild our decaying infrastructure, including bridges, dams, sewer systems, roadways, and airports, using contractors who hire at least a minimum number of unemployed workers.

Allow tax-free repatriation of corporate foreign profits. (Even if such earnings are not invested in domestic job creation in the short term, they will be passed on to employees and stockholders, resulting in increased consumer spending and tax revenue.

Expedite the issuance of permits for domestic oil and gas exploration and drilling and clean coal development.

Open the ANWR oil fields in Alaska and facilitate construction of a second pipeline to bring the crude down to Valdez for shipment to the lower 48.

(The last two above items would also address our huge dollar outflow and our urgent need for energy independence - a security as well as an economic issue.)

To Increase Revenue:

Raise the level of Social Security income subject to tax from 85 percent to 100 percent.

End ethanol subsidies and payments to farm owners for not growing crops on certain land.

Allow municipalities to assess real estate tax on church and other non-profit property.

Limit the earned income credit a taxpayer can receive to their actual tax liability. For example, a couple with 3 children having an adjusted gross income of $35,000, and with a tax due of $600, would receive a credit of $600. (Under current rules, that taxpayer would receive a credit of $2,700, minus the tax due of $600, resulting in a "refund" check for $2,100.)

Tax the sale of decriminalized marijuana. (Also covered under "Reduce Spending.")

Increase the gasoline/diesel tax by $0.20 each year for 5 years to provide incentive for increased fuel economy and development of alternate sources of energy.

Increase the tax rate on personal adjusted gross income in excess of $1 million per year to 50%.

To Reduce Spending:

Provide that all federal government employees, including all members of Congress, be covered by Social Security and Medicare like all other citizens.

Eliminate Saturday (and possibly Wednesday) mail delivery by the USPS.

Abolish the federal Department of Education

Freeze all government salaries.

Eliminate indexing of federal government pensions.

Reduce unemployment benefits back to 26 weeks on new claims.

Decriminalize marijuana to drastically reduce law enforcement, court and prison costs.

Scale back on the scope of amenities available in federal prisons.

Eliminate base line budgeting. (Basically assumes that current budget is fine, just needs some "tweaking".)

Seal our borders, enabling the states and municipalities to reduce education costs and the costs of providing medical care for illegals and the imprisonment of illegals who commit crimes.

Close most of our many military bases throughout the world and bring home thousands of personnel and their families from places like Japan, S. Korea, Germany, and hopefully soon from Iraq and Afghanistan. Some of these people could be used to supplement the personnel needed to close our borders. One-time startup costs to provide quarters for such personnel can be offset by the sale of our overseas facilities, and our housing market and overall economy would get a welcome shot in the arm from the increased domestic spending. Such a move would not only reduce our dollar outflow, but it should also reduce the size of our required pool of equipment such as tanks, trucks, armored vehicles, aircraft, and all sorts of armament and equipment, and reduce the number of our people in harms way in the process.

Frank Yanacek

Sun City Center, FL 33573

fyanacek@tampabay.rr.com